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Southern California residents leave urban areas for the suburbs in large numbers
Research - FEBRUARY 10, 2021

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Southern California residents leave urban areas for the suburbs in large numbers

by Andrea Zander

2021 looks likely to be a boom year for Southern California’s suburban periphery after the COVID-19 pandemic jump-started a period of rapid growth for less dense communities, reported CBRE.

With the traditional attractions of urban living (entertainment and social activities, proximity to employment, cultural amenities) rendered temporarily moot by COVID-19, residents left the region in larger numbers than in previous years. Address change data indicate Los Angeles and Orange counties experienced 33 percent more move-outs since March than in the same period in 2019.

The composition of the move-outs is unclear: survey data indicate most people changing residences because of COVID-19 are doing so to move in with family or leaving a college residential environment. However, the migration data suggest it is likely that the pandemic has accelerated relocation decisions, especially for the large cohort of formerly urban millennials who are nearing family

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